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| My visit to Drugyal Dzong |
I
have learned in the histories during the old school days about the wars among
the petty rulers of our country in early days and how people used to go
to fetch water at times of war, concealed in between high walls. Especially in
the structures like fortresses, they used to have a secret pathways to fetch
water from a well below. It is called as "Chhudzong"
or a water fortress (Forgive me if my
direct translation is incorrect). Chhhudzong
will be located far below near the stream and the way to it will have been
protected by high walls to protect themselves and the water source from the
enemies.
The
structure will be seen in every old monuments. The same structure could be seen
in Drugyal Dzong and it can be
confirmed from the structural design that it is a Chhudzong. Although it's just a ruins, the structure still stands
majestically on the hill overlooking the valley below. The walls are very
strong and we can easily make it out that the structure is built with a firm
foundation. I was amazed by the structures build over a large area and without
having drawn a single line on a paper and using a single metallic nail, such a
magnificent structure stands still at this time. Going by the History, it is
said that the Dzong was built in 1649
and later in 1950, it was destroyed by fire.
The
Dzong is located about 12 Kilometers
away from main Paro town and the journey through the thick pine forests is breathtaking.
Once inside the courtyard of the Dzong,
one can remember the histories and imagine the lives of our people during those
times. The structures; the walls, staircases and the doors and windows will
take us to the times of 17th or 18th centuries. It is one of the few old
structures seen in Bhutan and a site visited by all people. The good news is
the Royal Government of Bhutan has a plan to rebuild the Dzong to its former glory and hope the structure and architecture will be as it was.
